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Limiting Semiautomatic Weapons

by Melanie Asdourian

Widener University Political Science Major

Senator Dianne Feinstein of California wants to enact a bill to limit the use of semiautomatic weapons. If enacted it would be illegal to purchase and manufacture over one hundred and fifty types of semiautomatic weapons. Of course, there would be exemptions for hunting purposes, but the main goal is to cut the supply of the weapons. It is important to reduce the amount of semiautomatic weapons that are accessible to the public, but is this the right approach in ultimately keeping the people of this country safer?

Innocent lives have been taken in recent tragedies and this bill can hopefully reduce the amount of mass shootings, but what about the deaths from simple handguns? Instead of trying to ban semiautomatic weapons we should try to enforce the laws that we already have by stricter background checks and having to re-register all types of guns every year. State governments need to be more aware of the people who own more than one gun and each one should be registered. A modest goal would be to concentrate on gun trafficking and looking at mental health records of people applying for a gun permit. A person with a history of mental illness cannot receive a driver’s license therefore they should not be permitted to own a gun.